Today in Design - Top Articles RoundUp 12 January 2015

The day’s best and most impor­tant design- and design business-focused arti­cles, tuto­ri­als, and resources hand-picked by Pariah Burke.

  • She Makes Comics, a Film About Women in the Comic Book Industry
    She Makes Comics tells the little-known sto­ry of women in comics, high­light­ing the con­tri­bu­tions they have made to the medi­um since the turn of the 20th cen­tu­ry. It fea­tures inter­views with such promi­nent fig­ures as his­to­ri­an Trina Robbins, Cap…
  • Trade Secrets – A Viable Alternative to Patents

    While trade secrets can­not ful­ly replace patent pro­tec­tion in all respects, they do offer a viable alter­na­tive to patents for pro­tect­ing intel­lec­tu­al prop­er­ty in some cas­es. In addi­tion, while the val­ue of patents in pro­tect­ing IP has been under attack this year, trade secret pro­tec­tion has been on the rise with, for exam­ple, the California appel­late court deci­sion in Altavion, Inc. v. Konica Minolta Systems Laboratory, 226 Cal.App.4th 26. 171 Cal.Rptr.3d 714 (1st Dist. 2014) that broad­ened the def­i­n­i­tion of what infor­ma­tion can qual­i­fy as a trade secret. Moreover, there is a real pos­si­bil­i­ty that Congress will final­ly pass a civ­il trade secrets pro­tec­tion law, which will mean that trade secrets will not be con­sid­ered patent’s ugly step sis­ter any longer.

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  • Sign Electronic Documents with Your Own Handwritten Signature
    Digital sig­na­tures are a legal­ly bind­ing way to affirm your agree­ment to PDF doc­u­ments. They can include your name, your orga­ni­za­tion infor­ma­tion, your e‑mail address, and the date and rea­son you signed the doc­u­ment. Typically, though, digital …